Objective:
The objective of this cooperative research project is to develop novel pasture and turf grass germplasm and technologies that enable more efficient selection for value added traits.

Approach:
Collaborative experiments will be designed and implemented either in the field or laboratory for the evaluation of novel forage and turf grass germplasm by the Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT, USA (hereinafter FRRL), and Sichuan Agriculture University, Yaan City, Sichuan Province, China (hereafter SAU). Evaluations will include but are not limited to field measurements of forage yield, forage quality, turf quality, abiotic stress tolerance, and seed production. Laboratory evaluations will be conducted at FRRL or SAU that includes: 1) the assessment of molecular marker or DNA sequence relatedness; 2) elucidation of genetic mechanisms behind value-added traits (e.g., flowering time, forage quality, and abiotic stress tolerance), and; 3) tests to define the association of markers and traits of economic importance.